SFIII: Double Impact & 3rd Strike. Which is the better game?

[jalvarez82]

Most of you probably knew your answer just by reading the title of this thread and going, "Pffff...no contest." lol

But just hear me out!

I played 3rd Strike earlier today, and now I'm playing Double Impact. And I gotta say.....I'm enjoying Double Impact a whole lot more. Is it just me, or does DI look a little better than 3rd Strike, graphically? I swear it seems like the graphics in DI are smoother and more fluid. Or am I trippin'? lol

3rd Strike has more characters to choose from, and the soundtrack is much better too. But what else does it have over Double Impact?

What do you guys think is the better game?

Are both arcade-perfect??

I've been away from fighters for a while, so help me understand why you think one is better than the other.

[jalvarez82]

...maybe I'm just over analyzing this too much.

[CD AGES]

I'm enjoying Double Impact a whole lot more. Is it just me, or does DI look a little better than 3rd Strike, graphically?

No! you're not "trippin". Both NG and 2I are better in the graphics area than 3S. It is smoother and more fluid due to extra frames of animation that the 2 former had as well as a more vibrant color palette.
I'm sure these positives that NG and 2I have over 3S was perhaps sacrificed to make room in the CPSIII board for the 5 additional characters, the additional bonus stage, more elaborate audio overall, as well as more detailed backgrounds which 3S has going for it.

But what else does it have over Double Impact?

Aside from 5 additional characters and much improved audio, you get a more refined gameplay experience. A streamlined parry system over the first two, removal of absolute guarding, red parries, an actual command grab, and a remapped "UOH" all attribute to this, which leads me to the next topic...

What do you guys think is the better game?

3S! At the end of the day the final iteration of the SF3 series is a WAY more balanced game than its predecessor which ultimately makes it the better game. Sure, you can claim how cheap Chun and Yun can be in 3S, but that doesn't hide the sheer craziness of 2I with its ubber high tier Ibuki, Sean and Gouki! For goodness sakes RYU had two Denjin Stocks to work with (easy touch of death combo setups here folks) and Hugo had a Infinite if i recall correctly!!!
This by no means takes away from 2I (and NG) though. It's still a very fun game to play and enjoy in singles play or with some friends, it just doesn't lend itself well in competitive play.

Are both arcade-perfect??

No. All three iterations of SF3 are not arcade perfect. It's got nothing to do with the Dreamcast capabilities in providing arcade perfect play either. It was just a decision Capcom took when porting the games over. 3S is based on the arcade "Version B" release which is no where to be seen in the arcade scene due to the bad reception the FGC took with this version which had additional balance changes that did go well with many people. As a result the DC version of 3S is the less desired of the 3 ports among the fighting game community.
As for the 2 games in the DI release, Considering how off the wall broken NG was in the arcade, Capcom removed some infinites and combos during the translation to the DC. 2I "may" have gone thru a few gameplay tweaks as well. Regardless, NG and 2I are still only available on the Dreamcast platform.

Hope this helps...

[jalvarez82]

Wow, man. You've helped me out and then some! Thanks for kickin' down some knowledge my way. I appreciate it.

I think I might be enjoying DI a little more because of it being less technical than 3S.

Its hard to believe that neither game is arcade-perfect. Both look and play beautifully.

[CD AGES]

No problem.

I think I might be enjoying DI a little more because of it being less technical than 3S.

Its hard to believe that neither game is arcade-perfect. Both look and play beautifully.

Perhaps. I just like NG and 2I because the game is rather different from its final iteration. When you've played 3S for so long like I have, its real nice going back to the games that led to the refinement of one of my most favorite fighters. To this day, I am thankful that the entire trilogy of the SF3 series can be experienced under one sole plaform!

When you stop to think about it, no home conversion of an arcade games is truly "perfect". MVC2, CVS2 for example run a tad faster on the DC when compared to the Naomi arcade. Still, the fact of the matter is, its as close to arcade perfect as one can get (unless you opt for the arcade hardware). DI and 3S are result of a concious decision by development to further refine the home port from their arcade counterparts for better or worse. P. Justice on DC is another prime example. During Development for Dreamcast port, Capcom USA took it upon themselves to rid the original product from bugs and infinites that are considered game breaking in competitive play. As a result its not "Arcade Perfect".

Now's a good time I guess to pimp out my you tube page if you are interested in decent level footage of these fighting games and a whole lot more
http://anonym.to/?http://youtu.be/UmbSk02gLBs

And please check out my reviews on RDC blog

[Comrade Snarky]

There's also the ReviveDC Third Strike Arcade Edition disc. It restores the original music and uses a beta version of Third Strike that puts Urien and Oro's unblockables back into the game. There's still other changes, so it's still not a perfect arcade conversion, but it's that tiny bit closer.

[CD AGES]

There's also the ReviveDC Third Strike Arcade Edition disc. It restores the original music and uses a beta version of Third Strike that puts Urien and Oro's unblockables back into the game. There's still other changes, so it's still not a perfect arcade conversion, but it's that tiny bit closer.

YES! I was gonna mentioned this, but found it more adequate that you should mention it CS. With the unblockable setups now intact and in addtion to the original arcade soundtrack, RDC's 3S: AE a lot more than a "tiny" bit closer! It's as close to the arcade version as DC owner can get or ever had! Not even Online Edition on the current platforms has the ability to play the game with the CPSIII soundtrack (something that many in the community have really been up in arms about!).